It's all about the burger.

Last week we headed up to Montclair, NJ with Elizabeth's brother Pete and two cousins Adam and Alex. Our mission? Eat burgers. Lots of burgers.

We had heard of both Elevation Burger and SmashBurger in the recent past. The two chains have both opened up one location each (with more on the way) in northern NJ, and we decided it was finally time to try them out. Our first stop was Elevation Burger - the environmentally friendly chain that serves up 100% USDA-certified organic, grass-fed, free-ranged, ground-on-premises beef. They even have a philosophy page so customers can read up on why all of the things mentioned above are not only more healthy but better for the environment. Definitely a concept we can get behind...but would the burgers stack up?

Oh, the burgers stacked up, both metaphorically and literally! Each Elevation Burger comes with two patties, cheese, and your choice of as many of their eleven free toppings (blue cheese is extra) as you want. We decided to go with carmelized onions and pickles, and what a decision it was. Everything tasted great together - the onions added a nice flavor, the pickle added some texture and crunch, and the cheese was just right. Now, what are we forgetting? Ah, the beef! The two burgers were, in a word, awesome. I've read complaints that grass-fed beef doesn't quite measure up in terms of taste thanks to a lower level of intramuscular fat (making it healthier), but we found that couldn't be further from the truth. Toronto-based journalist Mark Schatzker agrees and conducted a blind taste test to prove it - check out his article here. The meat at Elevation Burger was juicy and flavorful and held just the right amount of grease. All in all, a burger that we will be going back to.


Elevation Burger also offers the Vertigo Burger - a stack of anywhere from 3 to 10 patties on a single bun. Adam decided to man up and try the four-patty Vertigo, pictured above. We also tried some fries, which are cooked in 100% olive oil. Again, the healthier option ended up delivering in terms of taste - the fries were nice and thin with a golden-brown finish to them. We washed everything down with two beverages. The first, a chocolate milk shake with black cherries and more chocolate, was delicious. Milkshakes tend to be a little too expensive to justify buying, but we splurged here and it was worth it. The second drink was an iced tea flavored with some odd combination of citrus and spices (was it cinnamon?) - it actually ended up being really interesting and something you won't find in many places.

Elevation Burger was a hit with everyone. Awesome burgers were the focal point, but all of the supporting cast came through and as a whole the meal was really, really good. The staff there was super friendly, and for us, the whole organic grass-fed thing was a big plus too. It was definitely a straight-up burger joint, with metal chairs, tables, and troughs for delivering your meal.

SmashBurger was next up on our burger odyssey. This place was much more restaurant-like, with comfy booths and a menu that offered quite a bit more. Alex ordered up the chili fries (pictured above), but the rest of us went with some combination of burgers and (non-chili) fries.

This time we went separate ways and had our own burgers. I ordered a Mushroom Swiss (pictured above) on an egg bun. The seasoning on the burger was really tasty, but the meat seemed a bit more dense and since this was our second stop I was already started to fill up. Definitely a good burger, though, and the egg bun was actually a pleasant surprise. -E.

I went low profile with my SmashBurger and just put on some cheddar cheese and a few pickles. Put that all on an onion bun, which added a nice flavor to the burger. I definitely appreciated all the options here. The burger itself was definitely seasoned well, but while the meat itself was good I found it to be a little overdone. The thing here is that they "smash" the burgers and seal in the juices. Sounds good in theory, but in practice they ended up smashing a bit too hard (at least on this occasion) - the outside of the burger ended up being a little too crunchy and charred for my liking. It wasn't terribly offensive, though, and I still enjoyed everything. - B.


We both split an order of Sweet Potato Smash Fries, seasoned with rosemary, olive oil, and garlic. There was definitely an awesome rosemary aroma emanating from the fries, but we were in agreement that everything just didn't seem to work together. I'm an absolute fiend for everything sweet potato (-B), but all of the other stuff going on just didn't seem in balance with the flavor of the spuds. We had a few of Pete's regular Smash Fries and found them to work much better with the rosemary and garlic.


A hard night's work, and a lot of burgers smashed. Most of us agreed that the Elevation meal was the winner, even though we didn't set out to make it a night of competition. This most likely won't be our last stop at either place, though, so we'll see who steps up their burger game the next time we're in town.

Suggestions for the next culinary mini-road trip? Tacos, anyone?